Friday, June 25, 2010

Just in case you've been holding it another way, you FREAK!
Even though Apple class this as a non issue, they're advising users to “avoid gripping it in the lower left corner in a way that covers both sides of the black strip in the metal band, or simply use one of many available cases.”
See Cult Of Mac.

Thursday, June 24, 2010

Happy iPhone 4 day!
I'm sad to say that I still have about twenty months on my current 02 contract, so even though I really want one (now they have a decent camera), I'll be making-do with my Samsung Jet for the time being.
My mate Neill queued outside Hemel Hempstead's O2 store this morning and is now the proud owner of a 32GB version. Well done, Neill.

Tuesday, June 15, 2010

Apple have gone for another unibody design to save space. Now it's only 195mm square and 36mm tall. Extras squeezed inside include the power supply (so there's no power brick to keep your feet warm) and notice the added bonus of a SD card slot.

The video card (Nvidia GeForce 320M) is the fastest integrated card on the market. That's twice as fast as the predecessor. And the power consumption has been reduced 10W at idle, so it remains the world's most energy efficient desktop computer.

But the exciting new addition is the HDMI output. This means you don't need to go out and buy a monitor; you can use any HD TV.

It's a lot easier to get into as the old Mac Mini as the circular foot rotates to give access to the gubbins inside.

For £645 you get:

2.4GHz Intel Core 2 Duo processor with 3MB of shared L2 cache;

2GB of 1066 MHz DDR3 SDRAM, expandable up to 8GB;

8x SuperDrive (CD and DVD read-write);

320GB Serial ATA hard drive;

Nvidia GeForce 320M integrated graphics;

AirPort Extreme 802.11n wireless networking & Bluetooth 2.1+EDR;

Gigabit Ethernet;

Four USB 2.0 ports;

SD card slot;

FireWire 800 port;

HDMI port and Mini DisplayPort;

HDMI to DVI video adapter;

Combined optical digital audio input/audio line in (minijack);

Combined optical digital audio output/headphone out (minijack).

As ever, all you have to supply is the keyboard and mouse and there's a server version with 2.66GHz Intel Core 2 Duo processor, two 500GB hard drives now running at 7200 rpm, 4GB of RAM (expandable up to 8GB) that supports unlimited clients for £929.

Just a few bug fixes with this one. It also includes Safari 5 (yes, we will force you use our new browser!). Here's the bumf:

The 10.6.4 Update is recommended for all users running Mac OS X Snow Leopard. It includes Safari 5 and general operating system fixes that enhance the stability, compatibility, and security of your Mac, including fixes that:

resolve an issue that causes the keyboard or trackpad to become unresponsive

resolve an issue that may prevent some Adobe Creative Suite 3 applications from opening

Monday, June 07, 2010

Well here it is. Exactly like the one left in a bar a few weeks ago but Apple have really pushed the boat out on the new features...

You can video call. Now this has been around on other phones for years but to be honest, it never quite worked as well as it did on the adverts and most people that have it on their phone (I have it on my Samsung Jet) haven't even bothered to use it. Even if Apple have made it simple to use, let's hope the networks can handle the bandwidth.

It has 'Retina Display'. The new iPhone now has the sharpest display on the market. Four times more pixels than earlier iPhones - 326 pixels per inch, in fact.

It can multitask! The new A4 processor helps the phone do this. Running and switching between multiple apps is a doddle. This means you can, for example, play music at the same time as using the GPS.

It can record HD video.... and you will soon be able to buy iMovie for iPhone for $4.99.

Other stuff includes the upgraded camera - now 5 megapixels with a 5x zoom and LED flash.

The Apple Worldwide Developers Conference 2010 is nearly here. Will there be a new iPhone? Definitely. Will there be a $99 AppleTV that runs on the iPhone OS? I hope so. It could kick-start Steve Jobs' 'hobby' that never really took off. Last minute iPhone 4 rumours hint at a new form factor, HD display, better camera with flash and forward-facing camera, the Apple A4 processor and noise-cancelling. We'll know tonight when Steve takes to the stage.

Friday, May 28, 2010

Some say I'm obsessed, but I've never queued to get my hands on a new Apple product. However, I did stop off at Micro Anvika for the launch party of Mac OS X one drunken night in 2001. It was called Cheetah back then, not that anyone cared.

Friday, May 07, 2010

Apple's iPad is available in the UK for a suggested retail price of £429 for 16GB, £499 for 32GB, £599 for 64GB for Wi-Fi models and £529 for 16GB, £599 for 32GB and £699 for 64GB for Wi-Fi + 3G models.

Tuesday, March 30, 2010

You can now learn all about your favourite tablet at the US Apple website (there's nothing on the UK site yet). The actors in the films must have the world's strongest left arms to hold the iPads still for as long as they do.

This pastiche is spot-on. Jumping on the back of the iPad launch next month, Channel 4's sister channel had produceda lo-fi version of the Apple' touchscreen wonder that more in common with the old Apple Portable.

Thursday, January 28, 2010

Download the movie in three different sizes here.
I couldn't help but notice the lack of Flash when Steve Jobs demonstrated the New York Times page. You'd have though that he would have picked a page without any Flash content.

Wednesday, January 27, 2010

So the iPad is finally here and yes, I want one. Even though I already own the two products it sits inbetween - an iPod touch and a MacBook Air (both 1st-generation mind).
I was expecting the new device to be at least £600 and be far too expensive for most people, like a flat new Cube. But for the price of their cheapest model ($399), they've well and truly targeted the eReader market (and possibly the laptop market too). To make an eBook reader with such a clear screen that shows an open book as it actually looks in real life is one thing, but to be able to use the same device to play games, watch movies, read new, surf the web, edit photos, play apps, write emails and use iWork is mind blowing. Amazon, Sony and every other eReader producer will have to reinvent their whole product line. That Kindle DX with it's 9.7" monochrome screen now really does look like something from over a decade ago (like a slimline Speak & Spell redesigned by the people who created the Amiga-500), and it's priced at $489.
Few things surprised me during the unveiling, it does everything an iPod touch can do, just bigger, and all the things you wished the iPod touch could do, if it had a bigger screen, like read books through the iBook app . The remainder of Apple's own applications (Mail, Contacts, iPhoto, etc.) have been tastefully redesigned for the 9.7 inch screen. One thing that did surprise was that it's powered by a 1GHz A4 chip that was custom-designed by Apple's own engineers (watch your backs, Intel).
Like it's smaller brother the iPod touch, it has Wi-Fi, comes with 18, 32 or 64GB of storage and attaches to your Mac with the usual 30-pin connector; not that you need too. You can also connect the dock to an optional camera connection kit or keyboard dock. Unlike the iPod touch an extra $130 gives you 3G connectivity.
It's missing a few things, like a USB port, SD card port and an iSight camera for iChat, but it seems that, for once, Apple has given the world what it had hoped for.

Monday, January 18, 2010

This just in from Engadget - at 10am (Pacific time), at the Yerba Buena Centre for the Arts Theatre in San Francisco, all eyes will on Apple. Unless they've been beavering away on some other piece of hardware (a touch-screen iMac?), they'll be introducing the world to the latest in tablet computing. And from the look of the invite, it'll be a lot more colourful than Amazon's monochrome Kindle.

Thursday, January 14, 2010

The recently opened Fan Page has links to all the latest news about Apple's upcoming tablet, rumoured to be launched on the 27th Jan. Now that Apple is reported to have hoovered up the world's supply of LCD and OLED displays, the rumours must be true. There's a gap in the eReader market that needs to be filled by a handheld viewer that has a full colour display that can do everything a iPod touch can. As names go, I'm sticking with iView... or perhaps iTab... or iTouch, the unofficial name of the iPod touch, but that is what it'll be - a big iPod touch... with more greasy fingerprints... for the price of a MacBook.